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CC BY 4.0 · Endosc Int Open 2025; 13: a26415952
DOI: 10.1055/a-2641-5952
Review

Colon capsule endoscopy today: Brief overview of leading UK and Danish initiatives

Jakob Frederik Frokjaer Justsen‡
1   Kirurgisk Afdeling A, OUH, Odense, Denmark (Ringgold ID: RIN11286)
,
Niels Gellert Olesen‡
1   Kirurgisk Afdeling A, OUH, Odense, Denmark (Ringgold ID: RIN11286)
,
Gunnar Baatrup
2   Department of Surgery, Odense University Hospital,, Syddansk Universitet Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet, Odense, Denmark (Ringgold ID: RIN74340)
,
Anastasios Koulaouzidis 
3   Department of Clinical Research, SDU, Odense, Denmark (Ringgold ID: RIN6174)
4   Afdeling A, OUH, Odense, Denmark (Ringgold ID: RIN11286)
5   Department of Gastroenterology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland (Ringgold ID: RIN37805)
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Abstract

Background and study aims

In recent years, several large national studies have been published reporting on outcomes of colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) in both symptomatic and screening settings, significantly contributing to the expanding body of real-world evidence on CCE. Therefore, we have compiled these studies to provide an overview of key developments, current challenges, and valuable insights they offer into the evolving role of CCE.

Patients and methods

We examined three multicenter studies reporting on outcomes of CCE including the NHS England study with 4,878 symptomatic patients; the ScotCap pilot with 316 symptomatic patients; the ScotCap registry with 1,087 predominantly symptomatic patients (95.9%); and the CareForColon 2015 study with 1,790 patients in a screening setting. For the ScotCap pilot study, only symptomatic patients were included.

Results

ScotCap pilot reported the highest rate of adequate bowel preparation (79.4%) without using prucalopride. CareForColon2015 achieved a significantly higher rate of complete tests (91.7%) compared with other studies. NHS England reported a notably lower rate of follow-up endoscopy (46.7%), indicating effective patient selection. ScotCap pilot reported one case of missed colorectal cancer. Sensitivity of CCE for detecting polyps ≥ 10 mm ranged from 93.8% to 97.0% on a per-patient basis and from 75.0% to 95.8% on a per-polyp basis in the NHS England and ScotCap trials.

Conclusions

These national CCE programs reveal the complexity of large-scale implementation, driven by variations in definitions and protocols. Harmonized quality metrics and shared definitions of success are essential. Efforts should focus on reducing downstream procedures and fostering cross-system learning.

Keywords

Endoscopy Small Bowel - Capsule endoscopy - Endoscopy Lower GI Tract - CRC screening - Colorectal cancer - Polyps / adenomas / ...

Supplementary Material



Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 02. Juni 2025

Angenommen: 18. Juni 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
23. Juni 2025

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
23. Juli 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

Bibliographical Record
Jakob Frederik Frokjaer Justsen, Niels Gellert Olesen, Gunnar Baatrup, Anastasios Koulaouzidis. Colon capsule endoscopy today: Brief overview of leading UK and Danish initiatives. Endosc Int Open 2025; 13: a26415952.
DOI: 10.1055/a-2641-5952
 

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